While the first round of this year's playoffs may have been notably short on upsets, it's been providing some stunning outcomes nonetheless. Case in point: Dallas coming from two goals down in probably the most soul-crushing way possible to defeat the Colorado Avalanche.
DALLAS STARS 4 COLORADO AVALANCHE 2 (Stars win series 4-3)
When it came to quality stories in this year's NHL Playoffs, you'd be hard pressed to find a better one than the return of Gabriel Landeskog to the Colorado Avalanche. Having been out since their Cup win in 2022, and making an immediate impact on the series from the moment he stepped on the ice, it was one of those feel good moments that only hockey can provide. And if he should lead them on another Cup run, that return would get even more legendary. There was just one problem, though. The return of another player that was going to steal the show, and the series.
When the Avs made a big splash near the deadline by trading Mikko Rantanen to Carolina for Martin Necas and Jack Drury, it sent a signal to Western Conference challengers that they were ready to reclaim the crown. Dallas however seized on an opportunity when it came out that Rantanen didn't want to be in Carolina, trading Kamloops kid Logan Stankoven and draft pics to the Canes for the disgruntled forward.
With the Avs and Stars first round clash set in stone for weeks, you had to know that this had the potential of happening. What no one saw, was just how lethal the former Av would be to his old club. I thought the Avs might have had a shot in this one after pulling out a win in a game that saw Rantanen and Roope Hintz set an NHL record for both notching four points in a single period in a playoff game.
Rantanen saved the best for last, as facing a 2-0 deficit, he scored a hat trick, the first in a Game Seven in NHL history, and helped set up Wyatt Johnston's game winner on the power play. He added an empty netter to seal the hat trick and move the Stars on to the second round, awaiting the winner of tonight's Winnipeg Jets/St Louis Blues Game Seven battle. And the irony of Jack Drury being in the penalty box for what would be the game winner? An absolute master stroke from the hockey gods, there.
As far as the Avs go, perhaps we've been giving them too much credit? Apart from Nathan Mackinnon, they looked very ordinary, got good but not great goaltending from Mackenzie Blackwood, and showed that more than anything else, the prowess of their back end has been highly overstated. Apart from the Cup win in 2022, their playoff performance has actually been pretty dismal. They haven't gotten out of the second round of the playoffs, apart from 2022, since 2002. A string of first or second round exits, and 8 misses altogether. We need to rethink what a contender actually is in this sport, I think.
COACHELLA VALLEY FIREBIRDS 5 ABBOTSFORD CANUCKS 4 (OT) (Series tied 1-1)
A valiant comeback that saw the Canucks erase a three goal lead to send the game to overtime was not enough, as the Firebirds came away with the split, sending the series back to the Fraser Valley and making it into a best of three. The Firebirds came out strong in the first, with a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes, but the Canucks would respond in the second period, on goals from Phillip DiGiuseppe and Nate Smith.
They would tie it in the third on Juhjar Khaira's first of the playoffs, then took a 4-3 lead as he scored his second of the night, but Ben Meyers would tie it with around four minutes to go, and he set up the winner from Jacob Melanson for the winner at 4:45 of OT.
This was by far Khaira's best performance since joining the Canucks, with a three point night. The series now shifts to Abbotsford for the final three games (if necessary), with Game Three going at 7:00 PM at the Abbotsford Centre on Wednesday night.
TONIGHT'S ACTION
WINNIPEG JETS (3-3) vs ST LOUIS BLUES (3-3)
CANADA LIFE CENTRE, WINNIPEG MB
4:00 PM PST/ 7:00 PM EST
TV: SPORTSNET, CBC
This series has been very much a story of two completely different teams: The Winnipeg Jets at home, and the Winnipeg Jets on the road. At Canada Life Centre, the Jets, while having to battle through some sub standard goaltending from Connor Hellebuyck, have won three games in this series. In St Louis? Hellebuyck didn't last the full 60 in all three appearances, as the team just went through the kind of defensive collapse you'd expect from a team that finished in the Canucks spot, not the Presidents' Trophy winners. Is this a case where we gave them way too much credit, as we saw last night with the Colorado Avalanche? While we'd been waiting all of this first round for an upset, it appears that the hockey gods might have saved it for the finale of the first round.
Western Conference First Round, Game 7
7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, TBS, MAX, FDSNMW
Best-of-7 series tied 3-3
Blues projected lineup
Pavel Buchnevich -- Robert Thomas -- Jordan Kyrou
Jake Neighbours -- Brayden Schenn -- Jimmy Snuggerud
Mathieu Joseph -- Oskar Sundqvist -- Zack Bolduc
Alexey Toropchenko -- Radek Faksa -- Nathan Walker
Cam Fowler -- Colton Parayko
Philip Broberg -- Justin Faulk
Ryan Suter -- Nick Leddy
Jordan Binnington
Joel Hofer
Scratched: Alexandre Texier, Nikita Alexandrov, Matthew Kessel
Injured: Dylan Holloway (lower body), Tyler Tucker (lower body)
Jets projected lineup
Kyle Connor -- Vladislav Namestnikov -- Gabriel Vilardi
Nikolaj Ehlers -- Adam Lowry -- Cole Perfetti
Nino Niederreiter -- Morgan Barron -- Mason Appleton
Brandon Tanev -- Dominic Toninato -- Alex Iafallo
Josh Morrissey -- Dylan DeMelo
Dylan Samberg -- Neal Pionk
Haydn Fleury -- Luke Schenn
Connor Hellebuyck
Eric Comrie
Scratched: David Gustafsson, Logan Stanley, Ville Heinola, Jaret Anderson-Dolan
Injured: Mark Scheifele (undisclosed), Rasmus Kupari (concussion)
To make matters worse, the Jets will be without Mark Scheifele, who was injured in Game Five. All of the pressure is on Winnipeg as the Blues, riding an extremely confident Jordan Binnington (yes, that's as gross as it sounds) look to punch their ticket to the second round and a date with the Dallas Stars.
GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN
A little Swiss mosh for ya today. From their album '666 Pack' this is 'A Skull Crushin' Good Time' from INSANITY ALERT.
Enjoy the game, and make sure to check out our Round Two Preview tomorrow! Fuck Trump and Fuck Fascists!
